US House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise.
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GOP lawmakers have been scrambling to pick their next House Speaker.In a secret ballot held Wednesday, House Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.Scalise learned Thursday that he does not have enough votes to successfully secure the role, per AP.
Rep. Steve Scalise is withdrawing his run for the House Speaker position, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, just a day after House Republicans nominated the Louisiana representative for the role at the GOP conference.
The decision came after Scalise failed to secure enough votes to win the Speaker role on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.
Congress was thrown into chaos on October 3 after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his shortlived role as the speaker, leaving a question mark around who will take up the position amid a looming deadline for a government shutdown.
Many names were thrown into the ring, including Donald Trump. There are no rules that necessarily dictate who could be the speaker.
But on Wednesday the pick came down to Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Scalise, who is the current majority leader, narrowly beat Jordan in a secret ballot among Republican lawmakers.
A spokesperson for Scalise did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.